Too Little, Too Late?
by Dragonball X Avalon
Summary: Something happens to Tony that makes him realize how much he cares for Ziva. Is is too little, too late?
1. Chapter 1

"Tony you don't die unless I give you permission, understand?" Gibbs said, although Tony barely heard him. He felt himself losing consciousness, no doubt from the bullet that was lodged in his chest, barely stopped by the Kevlar vest he wore.

"Ziva…" Tony moaned. All he could think about was how foolish he had been to have never told her how he felt.

"Tony, just be still", she said, but he gripped her hand with an intensity she had never felt before.

"I love you", he said, and then he lost consciousness.

Ziva felt herself begin to cry, and she wondered how only ten hours ago Tony had been teasing her like normal, at least until they had to deal with Mossad.

Ten hours earlier…

Tony walked into NCIS at eight-o'clock and saw Mcgee and Ziva at their desks.

"Morning Mcgeek, morning Ziva"

"Hey Tony", Mcgee said, without looking up from his computer.

"Good morning Tony", Ziva said.

"Proby, go get coffee would you?" Tony asked, and Mcgee grimaced.

"You can forget the coffee Mcgee", Gibbs said as he walked in and smacked Tony on the back of the head.

"Ziva, call your father, and ask him why the hell he's got one of his Mossad boys asking about a dead Navy Captain."

**Author's Note: I know it's a short chapter, but I promise next chapter will be longer. Ziva will talk to her father, and there are more surprises in store. Please review as your reviews encourage me to keep writing.  
**


	2. Chapter 2

Ziva picked up her phone, and dialed Eli David's private line.

"_Shalom"_

"Shalom, Eli"

"_Ziva is that anyway to talk to your father?_" he asked. Ziva knew he hated anyone calling him by his first name; it made him feel weak.

"My father died when I joined Mossad. Now I know you're busy, so I'll be brief. Why the hell do you have a Mossad agent asking about a dead Navy Captain?"

"_That's classified"_

"Like hell it is. You know the rules; no foreign intelligence agency can enter a country without authorization. Now, I can arrest your Mossad agent and I will unless you tell me why you were investigating a naval officer"

The tone in her voice made it clear that she would not hesitate to do as she threatened.

"_All right Ziva. He had been smuggling weapons out of Tel Aviv, and supplying them to a man in the U.S. We intercepted a call that he's to meet the man in ten hours, at a warehouse on 10__th__ street"_

"Thank you Eli. We'll take care of them; just get your Mossad agent out of the U.S."

"_All right Ziva, he'll be out by the morning. Shalom"_

"Shalom, Eli"

Ziva hung up her phone, and turned to Gibbs.

"Apparently our Captain was smuggling arms out of Tel Aviv. He's supposed to meet his buyer at a warehouse on 10th street in ten hours. The Mossad agent was following him, but he'll be gone by morning"

"Good work Ziva. Let's be sure we're waiting for his buyer"

Ten hours later…

"Gibbs, I've got a black SUV coming into the lot", Tony said, from his position just to the side of the warehouse.

"All right Dinozzo, wait for him to step out of the car, and then take him down"

"Understood boss"

He looked at Ziva, who nodded. They'd done this so many times they knew what to do without speaking. Ziva would go right, and cover the driver's door, while Tony would go left to the passenger side.

The SUV parked, and opened the door. The driver stepped out and began to walk over to the warehouse. Ziva and Dinozzo charged, weapons raised.

"Freeze, Federal Agents!" Ziva commanded, and the man raised his hands. Just as Tony and Ziva were about to cuff him, his head was blown off.

Tony didn't think, he just reacted, shoving Ziva to the pavement, just as another shot was fired, hitting Tony in the chest. He fell to the ground, grateful that NCIS required their agents to wear Kevlar.

"Agent down, agent down", Ziva yelled into her walkie-talkie. Gibbs and Mcgee ran from their position in the back of the warehouse, and joined Ziva. Gibbs told Mcgee to go check the roof where the shot had come from while he and Ziva stayed with Tony.

"Tony you don't die unless I give you permission, understand?" Gibbs said, although Tony barely heard him. He felt himself losing consciousness.

"Ziva…" Tony moaned. All he could think about was how foolish he had been to have never told her how he felt.

"Tony, just be still", she said, but he gripped her hand with an intensity she had never felt before.

"I love you", he said, and then he lost consciousness.

"Boss, I didn't find the shooter, but I found this", Mcgee said, running over to Gibbs and holding up a shell casing.

"Send it to Abby for analysis"

"Don't bother", Ziva said.

Gibbs and Mcgee looked at her, eyebrows raised.

"The shell casings are Israeli", she said, indicating the markings on the side.

"Only one organization uses this type of shell. Tony was shot by Mossad", she finished, and Gibbs and McGee's faces turned from shocked to anger.

"Get Eli David down here now. I want to know why he was targeting my agents", Gibbs said.

Twelve hours later, the director of Mossad was being ushered into NCIS by two security guards who were met at the door by Gibbs.

"Agent Gibbs, what is the meaning of –", his words were cut of as Gibbs punched him in the face. He grabbed his face with his hand in an attempt to stop the bleeding.

"You know damn well what the meaning of this is Eli! You had one of my agents shot!"

Ignoring Eli's protests, Gibbs told the security guards to take Eli to interrogation room three. Gibbs followed and once Eli was seated, dismissed the two guards and took the seat across from him.

"Is this the part where attempt to make me confess agent Gibbs?"

"No, this is the part where I make sure that the person who does interrogate you doesn't kill you", Gibbs said, and Ziva stepped out of the shadows.

Eli laughed, as he looked at his daughter. Gibbs threats were empty, and everyone knew it. She couldn't kill him; their director would never allow it. Eli kept laughing until Ziva walked up, grabbed him by his collar and slammed him against the wall.

"I'd stop laughing Eli; otherwise you won't make it out of here in one piece. Now, why did you have that man and Tony shot?"

"Isn't it obvious; the buyer was a means to an end and as for your boyfriend, I wasn't trying to kill him. I was trying to kill you. Don't you remember what I told you when you first joined Mossad? If you betray us, you die. Getting him was just an accident". He laughed again.

Ziva pulled out her gun and shot him in the kneecap. Eli swore as he grabbed his knee in pain. Ziva lifted him up, and slammed him against the wall again.

"Just because I can't kill you, doesn't mean I can't hurt you. Eli David, I am placing you under arrest for murder, assault on two federal agents, and attempted murder. I'm sure our friends in the FBI will add more charges. Oh, and if Tony dies, I will kill you slowly and painfully, just like you taught me."

Ziva cuffed Eli, ignoring his wince of pain as the cuffs bit into his wrists. Shoving him over to Gibbs, she walked out the door. Gibbs could handle Eli; she needed to be with Tony. For the second time in two days she cried as she thought of Tony lying unconscious in a hospital bed. She had loved him for a long time, she realized that now. She just hoped that it wasn't too little, too late.

**Author's Note: Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Next chapter we find out if Tony survives, and if he and Ziva's relationship changes! Thanks to all you who reviewed, favorited and followed this story. Please review as your reviews keep me writing! Ideas are greatly appreciated!**


	3. Chapter 3

"_Tony, you can't die on me. Please, I... I need you, I can't live without you. I love you, I've loved you for a long time, and I realize that now. Please just come back to me"_

Tony heard Ziva's voice as if she were a million miles away. He hated to hear the woman he loved speak as if her heart was torn in two. He couldn't leave her. Using her words as his strength, he felt himself slowly begin to regain consciousness. His eyelids fluttered open and he had to blink to be sure he _hadn't_ died and gone to heaven because he was looking into the most beautiful brown eyes he had ever seen.

"Ziva…" he moaned and she began to sob into his shirt.

"Tony, you... you're alive", she said, her throat tight and he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her to his chest.

"Yes, I'm alive, and so are you and I love you. That's all that matters"

"I love you too Tony", she said, and he put his hand under her chin, and pulled her lips to his. The kiss was simple but passionate, as if they were putting all their feelings that had been just below the surface over the last few months into that one kiss. Tony looked at Ziva and smiled, feeling like he was the luckiest man in the world. Ziva placed her head back on Tony's chest so he couldn't see the blush that had crept into her face at seeing Tony smile like that. There was a knock on the door, and they both turned to see Gibbs standing in the doorway, a knowing smile on his face. Ziva quickly moved off the hospital bed and into the chair beside it, although she kept her hand intertwined with Tony's.

"Hey boss" Tony said, wincing as he tried to smile.

"Hey yourself. Nice to see you awake DiNozzo"

"How long was I out?"

"Three days. Ziva never left apart from the time where she caught the man who shot you", Gibbs said, smiling at Ziva with pride.

"I never left Gibbs, we caught Eli first"

"Eli?!", Tony asked shocked.

"Eli was gunning for Ziva, but he got you instead. The lead he gave us on the buyer was a trap to kill Ziva"

Tony glared stonily at the wall, and clenched his hands into fists.

"When I get out of here, remind me to shoot him", he said to Gibbs, who shook his head.

"Ziva already took care of that. She put one right into the bastard's kneecap", he said and Ziva smiled. Tony smiled back, enjoying the thought of the director of Mossad grabbing his kneecap and writhing around in pain.

"Well, I'd better get going. We've got a dead Marine in Virginia. Tony you're on suspension until you've had at least two weeks bedrest. Ziva, I'm placing you on nursing duty. Ducky and Abby will be by later today and the doctor said you could leave tomorrow"

Gibbs walked to the door, and then turned back.

"Oh, and DiNozzo, if you break her heart, you'll live to regret it"

"Don't I know it", he said looking at Ziva. Sometimes having a trained killer for a girlfriend could be intimidating.

**Author's Note: Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Next chapter will have more Tony and Ziva! Please review comments and ideas are greatly appreciated!**


	4. Chapter 4

The next two weeks went by without anything unusual happening, although Ziva did tell Tony that if he tried to go to work before Gibbs okayed it, she would put him out of commission for a month. She was a good nurse, taking care of Tony although he thought her presence and love for him made him feel better much more quickly than any bedrest did.

"Ziva, let's go", Tony said and he got up and walked over to the door. He was wearing a suit which Ziva thought was odd, but when she had asked about it, he had just said it was a surprise.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"I'm taking you out tonight; we've been cooped up in this house too long"

"Alright, just give me five minutes to change", she said. She went into the bathroom and came out five minutes later wearing a black, strapless dress that cut like a V just over her chest.

"What do you think?" she asked Tony, who felt like his jaw had dropped to the floor.

"You are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen", he said honestly, and Ziva walked over and kissed Tony on the lips. He kissed her back, and she opened her mouth deepening the kiss. Tony's hands ran up her back, while she nibbled his ear.

"Should we just order takeout?" Tony asked.

"No, I need an excuse to leave the house", Ziva moaned and keeping her hand in Tony's, she walked out the door. Tony drove to the restaurant and Ziva's eyes lit up. They were at the Six Seasons Grill, the most expensive restaurant in town. They were seated in a candlelit booth, and were just opening a bottle of champagne when someone appeared by Tony's arm.

"Hello Tony. It's been a while, hasn't it?"

Looking up, Tony looked like he'd seen a ghost. Jeanne Benoit was standing in front of him.

Tony didn't say anything, he just glared at Jeanne. She just smiled at him, which infuriated him all the more.

"Look, can't you see I'm in the middle of a date. The last thing I need is to have it interrupted by the daughter of an arms dealer"

Jeanne didn't say anything; she just alternated between smiling at Tony and glaring at Ziva.

"You know, I really think you should leave", Tony said.

"Really, is that really what you want Tony? I guess I should, but I would've hoped you would've found better taste than her!" she said glowering at Ziva.

"You're very lucky I don't hit girls, but unless you want me to make an exception I would advise you to leave. This is the last time I'll ask"

"You've been too polite Tony. If all she wants is too cause trouble, let her take it somewhere else because unlike you, I have no qualms about hitting a girl", Ziva said. She'd had enough of some stupid ex of Tony's ruining their evening.

"Hey Tony, let's get out of here"

"I'm not going anywhere with you"

"Oh come on", she said, grabbing Tony's arm.

Ziva just snapped. She could deal with stupid comments, but no one touched her boyfriend. She jumped out of the booth and punched Jeanne in the face. She fell to the floor, unconscious. Tony looked at her in shock, and Ziva just shrugged.

"No one touches my boyfriend but me", she said, and he smiled. Sometimes, he thought, having a trained killer for a girlfriend could be quite enjoyable especially when it came to annoying ex-girlfriends.

Ziva called the manager who was an old friend from her Mossad days, and she took Jeanne home while Tony and Ziva enjoyed dinner with her compliments.

Two hours, and two steaks later, Tony and Ziva drove back to the house.

"I'm sorry if I ruined our evening by punching Jeanne"

"Are you kidding me! That was the second best part of the evening!"

"Second-best? What was the first?"

"Being with you", he said, and she smiled as she kissed him. Tony had had the best night of his life. If he had known what would happen the next day, he would've made it last a little longer.

**Author's Note: I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! I really had a great time writing the argument between Ziva, Tony and Jeanne! Next chapter there will be a surprise that I hope will shock you! Thanks to everyone who followed, favorite and reviewed my earlier chapters! Please review as your reviews help me keep writing!**


	5. Chapter 5

Tony and Ziva walked into NCIS on Monday morning, and were immediately ushered into Director Vance's office. Tony didn't know what Vance wanted with them, but his gut told him it wasn't just to welcome them back to work. He hoped his gut was wrong as it usually was, but the minute the Director walked into the room Tony knew that his gut was right.

"DiNozzo, David, welcome back. I hear Gibbs let you break rule 12; that's good it's about time someone did, just keep it out of the office ok?"

"Forgive me for being presumptuous Director, but I doubt that you called us up here just to welcome us back, and to congratulate us on breaking rule 12", Ziva said, in a tone that told Vance to just get to the point.

"You're right, I didn't. As you know Eli David is in jail for trying to kill you, and while he should rot in jail we have a problem. Mossad has been left leaderless without Eli, and we need someone to go over there and make sure that whoever takes charge of Mossad will still work with us"

"Let me guess you figured Ziva should go because even if it's only in name, she's related to Eli and would have some say in who will run Mossad"

"That's right. Plus she knows the area and is fluent in Arabic"

Tony looked over at Ziva, who looked at him with an expression he had only seen in Somalia: _fear_. When she looked at Vance, the fear was gone, replaced by determination, but Tony knew that it was just an act.

"Director, can I talk to you in private for a minute?"

"Certainly", he said, and Ziva walked out of the room, glad to be away from Vance's scrutiny.

"I'll be blunt Leon", he said, which caused Vance to step back. Tony had never called him by his first name before.

"What the hell are you thinking sending Ziva back there?! The last time she was there, she ended up being captured and tortured for three months. She didn't get any semblance of normal for another six months after we got her out, and I'll be dammed if I risk having something like that happen to her again!"

"DiNozzo, Tony... If there was anyone more qualified I would send them but Ziva's the best agent for the job. Now don't think that I don't care about her safety, that's why you're going with her. Also, I've made it clear to everyone at Mossad that if anything happens to any of our agents, there will be hell to pay"

Tony walked up to the Director and grabbed him by his collar. He glared at Vance, angrier than he had ever been in his life, but when he spoke; his voice had a calm that somehow made it all the more threatening.

"Oh there will be hell to pay alright, but if anything happens to Ziva, you'll be the one I come after, not Mossad"

Tony released the Director's collar and walked out of the door. He passed Gibbs, who looked more furious than Tony had ever seen him.

"Boss, don't bother. I already talked to Leon", Tony said and Gibbs smiled, and walked back to his desk. Tony walked down to the bullpen and saw Ziva sitting at her desk, visibly shaking. He took her hand and walked her to the elevator. Turning off the power, he held her in his arms until she stopped trembling.

"Ziva, it'll be ok, I promise. I won't leave your side", he whispered kissing her temple.

"I'm sorry Tony, it's just… the things they did to me…" she didn't finish, but she didn't have to. Tony had seen what she looked like when he found her and he promised himself that if he ever caught the bastard's that did this to Ziva he would kill them.

"I won't let anyone hurt you, I swear it. I promise you, I'll never leave your side", he promised again, and she kissed him. She felt so foolish to have been afraid, but with Tony there she knew she was ok.

"Don't. I don't want you to", she said and he smiled and kissed her again and thought about how nice it was to have an elevator without power.

**Author's Note: I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, and please review, your reviews help me to keep writing! **


	6. Chapter 6

Tony looked down at Ziva, who had her head on his shoulder as they descended into Tel Aviv International Airport. He had tried to get her to sleep, but she hadn't and never had been able to.

"You ok?" he asked and she nodded, her fear being replaced by determination now that they were getting into Tel Aviv. She swore to herself that she wouldn't show fear, and would never be that weak again.

The flight landed at two o'clock in the afternoon, Tel Aviv time and they were met by two Mossad agents who took them to a facility just outside of Tel Aviv. Tony was blindfolded, but Ziva was not, since she had been there before. When they were taken out of the car Tony's blindfold was taken off and they were escorted into a well-furnished office, occupied by none other than Michael Rivken.

"Agent DiNozzo, Ziva, how wonderful to see you again", he said, although the comment was mostly directed at Ziva.

"I wish I could say the feeling was mutual", Tony said.

"Ah yes, you got shot. I'm sorry about that although you weren't really the target, now were you?" Rivken said and he grinned at Ziva.

"It was _you_!" Tony said, and punched Rivken in the face, knocking him to the floor. He continued to kick Rivken, not caring about the noise he was making, only caring about the fact that this was the monster that had nearly killed the woman he loved more than anything else in the world.

"Tony, stop!" Ziva said, and pulled Tony away from Rivken. He got up wiping the blood off his lip, glaring at Tony.

"Thank you Ziva, at least someone has some sense", he said, as two Mossad agents burst into the room.

"Are you all right sir?" one of the agents asked.

"I'm fine, wait outside"

"They nodded and went outside.

"Rivken, just be glad Tony's not dead or you'd have a bullet in between your eyes right now", Ziva snarled.

"Oh really? I would've expected you to be back with Mossad, back in my bed"

"Go to hell you sonofabitch!" Ziva said.

"Where are the other candidates for leadership of Mossad?" Ziva demanded, not wanting to be here any longer than she had to be.

"There are no other candidates. I'm in charge now that your father's in jail. I just wanted to get you down here because I could and to let you know that you're no longer the target. Agent DiNozzo is, and when he's dead and you come back to Mossad, I'll be waiting"

"I'll never come back to you Rivken! I love Tony and he's twice the man you'll ever be!"

"You'll come around"

Tony was once again blindfolded and they were taken back to the airport and left on the next flight to the U.S.

When the Director and Gibbs found out what had happened, it was hard to tell who was more pissed. Tony and Ziva were in no mood to answer questions however, so Vance told them to take off. Driving back to Ziva's house, they went to sleep immediately, too tired to even change their clothes.

Meanwhile, back at NCIS, Vance was welcoming the newest agent, Carlos Fredricks, unaware of what would happen when he joined Gibbs team.

**Author's Note: Sorry about the wait, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! I promise you guys will hate Carlos soon and I can't wait for you to see what else I have in store for Tony and Ziva! Thanks to everyone who reviews and please continue to review as your reviews help me keep writing! I would love to know what you guys would like Carlos to do to irritate Tony, so please leave me your ideas!**


	7. Chapter 7

"Guys I'd like you to meet the newest member of your team Special Agent-"

"Carlos Fredrick's?!" Tony asked, walking up to his friend and high-fiving him.

"Tony DiNozzo, how long's it been, five years?" Carlos asked, pushing his black hair out of his face.

"Something like that. Carlos and I were partners during my time at the Baltimore PD", he says, replying to the stunned looks on everyone's faces.

"Yeah, Tony was the only other Italian on base and we were both into the same stuff"

"What? Movies and quick relationships?" Ziva asked, causing Carlos to wince, but Tony just smiled.

"Yeah, back before I met my soul mate", Tony says as he kisses her on the lips. Ziva wrapped her arms around Tony's neck and returned his kiss at least until he was head-slapped by Gibbs.

"Hey, what was that for?!" Tony demanded, obviously irritated.

"Just because I let you break rule 12 does not mean you can just forget that you're at work! Keep it out of the office!" Gibbs said, and he walked off, presumably to go for one of his impromptu coffee runs.

Everyone else laughed except Carlos, who seemed pretty intimidated by Gibbs. Seeing the look on his face, Tony just laughed all the more and clapped him reassuringly on the shoulder.

"Don't worry about Gibbs Carlos. His bark's a whole lot worse than his bite"

Tony went around making introductions; Abby squealed and gave Carlos a hug, while Mcgee nodded, and Ziva shook his hand, although she was a little wary of this new agent. Something about Fredrick's didn't feel quite right to her. She ignored her doubt; probably just a reaction to a new agent.

"What's rule 12?" Carlos asked Ziva several hours later. A marine had been found dead just outside of D.C., strung up by his toes and cut in half. Gibbs had put Ziva with Carlos, supposedly to keep him focused on the job and not talking movies with Tony, but Ziva knew it was just to keep her away from Tony. So here they were, several hours later, attempting to find evidence for Abby to analyze.

"It is one of Gibbs many rules. It states that you are not permitted to date a coworker", Ziva replied, attempting to ignore the way Carlos seemed to stare at her for just a minute longer than was normal. She couldn't tell Tony; she was probably still just imagining things, and Tony would probably just think the same thing.

"But you and Tony ignored that rule?" Carlos asked.

"Not exactly. We got permission from Gibbs, not like we needed it", Ziva said, smiling until Carlos pointed behind her. Gibbs was standing there, just glaring.

"On a scale of one to ten, how much trouble am I in?"

"Twelve"

Gibbs wasn't kidding either; Ziva had a ten-foot tall stack of paperwork on her desk at the start of every week for the next two months and she usually didn't go home until after midnight on weekdays and after one am on weekends. It wasn't all bad though; Tony usually stayed with her unless he went out for a beer with Carlos. He had barely said a word to her in the last two months, which made her wonder if she had done something to alienate him. Not like she really cared, but she didn't need things to be awkward at work. However, when she asked Tony about it, he told her to forget it. According to Tony, Carlos had been like that during his time at the PD too.

The first Monday in August Ziva went into work at 6 am like usual, and was surprised to see Carlos there. He usually didn't get there until about seven unless they had a case.

"Morning Ziva", he said, smiling as she sat down at her desk.

"Good Morning Carlos", she replied.

Ziva sat there in silence for a minute until Carlos walked over to her desk. She looked up at him and waited for him to speak, but he just stared at her.

"Can I help you Carlos?" she asked. She had hoped that she had just imagined the not-so-subtle signals Carlos was sending her, but apparently she was wrong.

"I was just wondering if you wanted to grab dinner tonight?"

Ziva couldn't believe she was hearing this. Was he nuts; she was dating one of his friends! It took everything she had to not punch him in the gut for that kind of a question.

"I'm afraid I've already got plans with _Tony_", she said, her tone making it clear that she wasn't going to ever consider his offer. She turned her head back to her paperwork and was thinking Carlos had gone back to his desk, when she found herself looking into Carlos's eyes. He had grabbed her by her chin and forced her to face him.

"I would recommend you let go of my face if you want to keep your hand", she said, but Carlos either didn't hear her or he didn't care. It quickly became clear that the latter was true when he kissed her. Grabbing her gun from its holster, she pistol-whipped him across the face. He stepped back letting go of her face, and messaging his jaw. He glared at her, and she just smiled.

"What's so funny, huh, bitch! Let's see how much you're laughing when you're lying on the floor unconscious!"

"You take one step and you're a dead man, Carlos. I mean it, she'll kill you. Or I will it doesn't really matter"

Carlos looked behind him and saw Tony standing there with his gun pointed at him. He had never seen Tony this mad. He was shaking from rage, but his voice, like his gun, remained steady.

He just put his hands up, but that wasn't enough for Tony. He walked over and punched Carlos in the face.

"You ever.. ever touch her again and I will kill you"

Tony cuffed him and marched him to an interrogation room, and Ziva wondered why her mornings couldn't be like any normal person's. She supposed it was because she wasn't normal.

**Author's Note: I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Please review as your reviews helped me keep writing! **


	8. Chapter 8

Tony had just finished locking Carlos in an interrogation room, when he saw Gibbs walk into the bullpen. He walked into the elevator, and gestured for Tony to follow him. Shutting off the power, Gibbs looked at Tony and glared.

"What the hell happened DiNozzo?!" Gibbs asked and Tony preceded to explain everything. When he was done, he waited for Gibbs to say something. Instead, he just smiled.

"Good work, DiNozzo. Now, I want to know what was going on in this physco's head. Unfortunately, I have to talk to the Director, so if you want to interrogate him?"

"It'll be a pleasure"

Tony walked into Interrogation room 3 and started the recorder.

"Carlos, I'll ask you one question: Why did you attack Ziva?"

Tony didn't know what he'd been expecting, but it definitely wasn't for Carlos to confess, at least not right away.

"To hurt you; all through the PD you got everything. If I was up for promotion, you took it. If I dated a girl, you stole her from me. I wanted you to know how it felt… just once", Carlos was barely whispering now. Tony couldn't help but feel a twinge of sympathy for him. Without a word, he walked out.

Meanwhile, Gibbs walked into the Director's office. Without waiting for Leon to speak, he just started talking.

"What the hell, Leon! One of my agents is assaulted by somebody you put on my team. Did you even bother to look into his background?!"

"Gibbs, it was my fault, but I didn't think that the history between Fredrick's and DiNozzo would be a problem"

"You're damn right it was your fault! Next time you think about putting someone on my team without asking me, DON'T!"

Gibbs walked out and was met at the steps by Tony.

"Something I can help you with DiNozzo?"

"Yeah, I would like your blessing"

"My blessing?"

"It's traditional to ask the father, but as Ziva's father's in jail, and tried to kill her and you're the closest thing to her father-"

"Yes, DiNozzo, you can marry her, just promise you'll take care of her. You don't you're dead"

"Got it boss"

Tony walked down to Ziva's desk and got down on one knee, as he pulled out a black velvet box that contained the ring his father had given to his mother.

"Ziva David, I love you more than anyone else in the world, and I can't bear the thought of not having you in my life. Will you marry me?"

Tears welled up in Ziva's eyes as she kissed him.

"Is that a yes?"

"Yes Tony, I will marry you"

Tony slipped the ring on her finger and walked over to Gibbs.

"Gibbs, will you give me away at the altar?"

"Of course. It would be an honor"

**Author's Note: Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Sad to say that this story is nearing its end! Thanks to everyone who reviews! Please review and I hope to have the next chapter posted soon!**


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